Abstract
Commercial photographer Joseph Mulhearn spent a career at the Philadelphia-based firm W.H. Hoedt Studios, working there from the 1960s through the 1990s. Hoedt, which opened at the turn of the twentieth century, was a commercial art studio, providing photographic and design services for corporate clients. Comprising several thousand images, Mulhearn’s personal and professional archive sheds light on commercial photography’s history and opens a discussion about its status in the late twentieth century, revealing reasons why this genre of photography is generally absent from broader histories of the medium. The archive also depicts Mulhearn’s family life, and its thorough interweaving of the professional and personal raises challenges for its contextualization and preservation. Ultimately, the archive documents the life and career of a man who made business photography his business.
Published Version
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